Child poverty in rural America: new data shows increases in 41 states

A study by the Carsey Institute, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, found that in forty-one states, a higher percentage of rural children live in poverty than did in 2000. While the poverty level in 2006 was relatively stagnant compared to 2005\u27s poverty level, the situation is clearly becoming worse for rural kids

Child poverty high in rural America

On August 28, 2007, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau\u27s American Community Survey show that 22 percent of rural children are living in poverty, up from 19 percent in 2000. On average, rates are highest in the nonmetropolitan South (27 percent) and have climbed the most in the nonmetropolitan Midwest (by 3.9 percentage points)

Periodontal and gingival changes amongst pregnant women in Lagos, Nigeria

Objective: To assess the periodontal and gingival changes during different stages of pregnancy among women in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital. Method : Fifty three pregnant women attending the ante-natal clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH), were included in the study while, 53 non- pregnant with mean age 29.40 ± 3.8years, and apparently healthy women with mean age 30.96 ±2.3years served as the control. Periodontal and oral hygiene status were assessed using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) and the Simplified Oral Hygiene (OHI-S) Indices respectively. Result: There were a higher number of sextants with gingival bleeding and shallow pockets among the pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy compared to that of the non-pregnant women. The number of sextants with gingival bleeding and shallow pocket however reduced post partum. Thus, in the pregnant women the mean number of sextants with gingival bleeding was 0.9 in 1st trimester, 1.4 in the 2nd trimester, 1.0 in the 3rd trimester and 0.1 postpartum. The mean number of sextants with pocket (code 3) was 0.1 in the 1st trimester, 0.4 in the 2nd trimester, 0.3 in the in 3rd trimester & 0.1 postpartum. Whereas in the non- pregnant group, the mean no of sextants with gingival bleeding was 0.6 at the 1st examination ,0.5 at the 2nd examination and 0.4 at the 3rd examinations and the mean number of sextants with pocket was 0.1at the 1st examination, 0.2 at the 2nd and 3rd examination. The mean OHI-S score of pregnant women increased from 2.36 ± 0.91 at the beginning of the study to 3.03±0.72 at the end of the study. While the score of the control group increased from 2.06±1.1 to 2.65±0.99. Conclusion: The OHI-S score, gingival bleeding and pockets were higher in the pregnant than in the non –pregnant women. It is suggested that pregnant women should have routine dental check-up and early management of periodontal disease through adequate plaque control

Risky Sexual Behaviour, Sexually Transmitted Infections, HIV/AIDS and Health Promotion among Students in the University of Douala

There are about 9,335 students in the University of Douala, 6,686 males and 3,832 females with a mean age of 20 years. Knowledge of the transmission of AIDS is high as indicated by 95% of the students, 80% were also able to identify preventive strategies. However, there is a failure to translate knowledge into protective action and behaviour. Between 1998 and 2001, there has been a nearly three-fold increase in cases of STIs from 137 to 360. Tuberculosis, which is strongly linked to HIV/AIDS in Douala, has also increased from 7 cases to 38. HIV/AIDS prevalence among students is estimated between 3%-5%. Both male and female students constitute a high-risk group because of multiple partners due to the adoption of several supposedly emotional/financial safe strategies. These include sponsors  or male friends who pay rents, furnish rooms etc, in addition to campus girl friends/boy friends 'safety belts' and other short-term relationships. Condom usage is irregular. The University of Douala as part of its health promotion-prevention strategy has intensified its information, education and communication programme on HIV/AIDS with the support of governmental, non-governmental organisations and students clubs on campus and Peer educators have increased their sensitization activities. Preventive strategies include valorising positive cultural norms, empowering and encouraging students to practice sexual abstinence and fidelity. There is a need to incorporate students more in the design of appropriate and acceptable intervention strategies towards the prevention, health enhancement, treatment and management strategies of HIV/AIDS in the university arena

Heap Formation in Granular Media

Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we find the formation of heaps in a system of granular particles contained in a box with oscillating bottom and fixed sidewalls. The simulation includes the effect of static friction, which is found to be crucial in maintaining a stable heap. We also find another mechanism for heap formation in systems under constant vertical shear. In both systems, heaps are formed due to a net downward shear by the sidewalls. We discuss the origin of net downward shear for the vibration induced heap.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures available upon request, Plain TeX, HLRZ-101/9

Relearning in semantic dementia: word retraining programs to help rebuild vocabulary

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record

Interannual variability of tropospheric composition:the influence of changes in emissions, meteorology and clouds

We have run a chemistry transport model (CTM) to systematically examine the drivers of interannual variability of tropospheric composition during 1996-2000. This period was characterised by anomalous meteorological conditions associated with the strong El Nino of 1997-1998 and intense wildfires, which produced a large amount of pollution. On a global scale, changing meteorology (winds, temperatures, humidity and clouds) is found to be the most important factor driving interannual variability of NO2 and ozone on the timescales considered. Changes in stratosphere-troposphere exchange, which are largely driven by meteorological variability, are found to play a particularly important role in driving ozone changes. The strong influence of emissions on NO2 and ozone interannual variability is largely confined to areas where intense biomass burning events occur. For CO, interannual variability is almost solely driven by emission changes, while for OH meteorology dominates, with the radiative influence of clouds being a very strong contributor. Through a simple attribution analysis for 1996-2000 we conclude that changing cloudiness drives 25% of the interannual variability of OH over Europe by affecting shortwave radiation. Over Indonesia this figure is as high as 71%. Changes in cloudiness contribute a small but non-negligible amount (up to 6%) to the interannual variability of ozone over Europe and Indonesia. This suggests that future assessments of trends in tropospheric oxidizing capacity should account for interannual variability in cloudiness, a factor neglected in many previous studies

Health status and participation in a range of activities in an Australian community

Introduction: The aim of the research was to determine the relationship between levels of participation in a community and self-assessed health status of people in a rural and regional setting.Method: A cross-sectional design, using a mailed, self-administered questionnaire was used. Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of people aged 18 years and over who were registered on the electoral roll of a regional city and rural area, the Barwon and Otway regions of Victoria, Australia. The sample consisted of 1752 participants: 990 females (57%), 739 males (42%) and 23 sex undisclosed (1%). The range of participants was 18-98 years, and the mean age was 50.53 years (SD = 17.19).Results: Self-assessed physical and mental health were measured using the SF-12 scale. Participants with low incomes, and those with low self-assessed physical and mental health scores, were significantly more likely than other participants to agree with one or more of the social isolation items, indicating that they experienced some social isolation. Low levels of participation in social, sports, leisure or support activities were associated with low self-assessed physical and mental health. Disengagement with the local community was associated with low levels of self-assessed mental health. While younger people were more likely than older people to participate in social, sports, leisure or support activities, they were less involved as members of their community. Females were more likely than males to have been involved in five or more sports, leisure or support activities. Participation in civic activities was associated with high income. Levels of participation in the four different types of activities were combined (social activities, sport, leisure or support activities, community and group activities, and civic activities). Participants classified as low participators were more likely to be older participants, to have a low income and to have low scores for both physical and mental health.Conclusions: An association was found between health and community participation in a range of activities, and between health and engagement with the community in this rural and regional population. These findings are consistent with those reported from similar research with a metropolitan population sample. The current research suggests that the groups of people of most concern in terms of low participation rates, are people who have low incomes, people aged over 65 years, people who may be defined as possessing poor physical health and people who may be defined as possessing poor mental health. The relationship between age, community participation and health is complex and needs further exploration because it is not known whether poor health reduces community participation or whether reduced community participation results in poor health. However, current research suggests that developing and implementing strategies to promote people\u27s engagement with and involvement in their local community is one important way of promoting the health of the community as a whole.<br /